First Stage's 'The Lightning Thief' puts sword-slinging hero Percy Jackson on stage
"The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical" is as brisk an action thriller as I have seen First Stage perform in many a moon.
It's timely, too, opening on the heels of the first season of the Disney+ series "Percy Jackson and the OIympians," which adapts the same Rick Riordan novel for young adult readers.
After a series of school expulsions and sudden combat with a minotaur, teenage Percy learns he is a demigod, the child of Greek god Poseidon and a mortal woman. He lands in a camp with other halfbloods like himself. His troubles may be greater than his powers (not completely under his control). Monsters hunt hybrids like Percy, and now Zeus has sent him off on a dangerous quest to find the chief god's stolen lightning bolt.
First Stage double-casts young performer roles. On Saturday, I saw the Minotaur cast, featuring Ben Nowacek as Percy, Sanaiah Hibbler and Thatcher Jacobs as his boon companions, Annie Sturtz as a spirited frenemy, and the excellent ensemble of Ginger Foster and Callee Tamblingson. Nowacek gives us a believable and relatable young hero, struggling to process everything but stouthearted when the moment calls. Technically speaking, his singing could not always be heard clearly, so some audio or microphone adjustment may be in order.
Nadja Simmonds, Matt Daniels, Jamey Feshold and Austin Nelson Jr. handle a bevy of adult roles, human and mythological. (Daniels can now add to his lengthy résumé that he's been Chiron, the legendary centaur teacher, and Hades, god of the underworld.) Feshold fight-directed the extensive stage combat in the show, which include swords and staffs. It's stylized and shouldn't frighten most kids on the low end of First Stage's age recommendation for this production, which is 7 and older.
Like many a First Stage production directed by Jeff Frank, "The Lightning Thief" makes excellent occasional use of large puppets in telling a story. Tim Rebers music-directed, with Ami Majeskie as choreographer.
A little advance knowledge of Greek mythology will help anyone seeing this show.
This "Lightning Thief" brings up Percy's ADD and dyslexia, and quickly offers a verbal explanation for them, but the production does not spend much time on the subject. This production is more about adventure than introspection.
Depiction and discussion of the gods as absentee, indifferent, erratic and chaotic dads is a strong undercurrent of the story, and may lead to some family discussions.
If you go
First Stage performs "The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical" through March 10 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, visit firststage.org or call (414) 267-2961.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Percy Jackson fights monsters in First Stage's 'The Lightning Thief'
